The Arcade Gallery - Show Case L

Gynecology & Obstetrics

  1. Vaginal speculum. After 16th century Amboise Pare speculum, an iron prototype, c.1850. Similar Roman instruments were found in Pompei where they were used for reposition of metroptosis (uterine cervix prolapse) and cauterization of bleeding lesions (Squamous cell carcinoma). This practice has been abandoned during the following millennium as looking into vagina was considered more immoral than curing women.
  2. Vaginal speculum c.1890,wood to avoid cold sensation
  3. Sims-Gutman vaginal speculum, c. 1900.

John Marion Sims (1813-1883) was the first physician in modern time to look into women’s vagina for diagnosis and cure. This is an improved version of the original bent spoon he used

  1. Cauterization instrument, c. 1800
  2. Two Obstetrical forceps: on the left Smellie’s c. 1753 and right: Busch’s, c. 1793
    1. On the right fetus destruction instruments: Murphy’s Cranioclast and Simpson’s perforator both c. 1850
  3. Roman Crotchet, c. 50 , Bronze   

The Rosenberg Museum of Medicine – All Rights Reserved Ben-Gurion University of the Negev – Faculty of Health Sciences